Category Archives: News

Holy shit, it’s March! And the snow is melting! And there is SO MUCH BALBOA!


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Adam Speen and Nelle Cherry being awesome at ILHC 2014

BoaSA & Speakeasy: The next Balboa Speakeasy will be at Brass Union (formerly Precinct Bar in Union Sq), immediately following the Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon practice Sunday, April 12! Come out and play with us… the last one was epic! Gorgeous Balboa, tasty drinks, and a few magnificent swingouts… and there’s video to prove it.

Coming Soon — Peter Flahiff & Lauren Stanley: Peter Flahiff returns to Boston with his partner Lauren Stanley in late March/early April. Look for more details and registration on the New School Swing website; there’s a lot of great stuff! Here are the Balboa classes they have planned:

Monday March 31, Dance Union:
7:30pm Slow Balboa
8:30pm Advanced Connection Concepts for Swing Dancers

Monday April 6, Dance Union:
7:30pm-9:30pm Intermediate Balboa Intensive

Tuesday April 7, The Dance Complex:
8:00-10:00pm Solidifying Your Balboa Fundamentals

If you’re not sure about levels, check in with us – we should be able to guide you to the right classes for you. We also encourage our students to check out the incredibly awesome “The Art of Social Dancing” at 8pm, March 30 at First Church in Cambridge, and the classes on April 11 that should be suitable for swing dancers in any style: “Personalize Your Dance Style” and “History of Swing Music and Swing Dancing with Musicality.”

Coming Soon — Nelle Cherry & Adam Speen: Save the dates May 30 & 31 for Balboa Inside & Outside the Box weekend, with Nelle Cherry and Adam Speen! Registration coming soon… stay tuned, Balboa fans!

What up, February?


Jen Barnett and Gio Olla in California Balboa Classic Open Jack-N-Jill 2015 (their spotlight starts at 1:15)

Classes: We’ll be teaching Balboa Fundamentals B in February 2015! The content of this class will be suitable for anyone who has taken our Fundamentals A / Intro to Balboa class at least once. We will cover rhythm, connection, review of the basics you know, and some new figures to build vocabulary and improve transitions! Classes will be happening Tuesday nights at 8pm at the Dance Complex. Check out the class descriptions and our Balboa at the Dance Complex page for more information and registration!

Jen Barnett Workshops: An exciting weekend of classes especially focused on followers and the leaders who love them! Saturday February 28 will have classes for followers working solo, and Sunday March 1 will have classes for leaders and followers working together on follow-focused topics. Everyone’s partnering skills will end up stronger…and that’s the key to MOAR BALBOA FUN! Classes will be held at the Armory in Somerville, and we’ll have a Speakeasy immediately following Sunday’s classes! Registration is open now at Traffic-Stopping Balboa: Jen Barnett Workshops!

BoaSA & Speakeasy: The next Balboa Speakeasy will be at Brass Union (formerly Precinct Bar in Union Sq) from 3:30-7:00pm, immediately following the Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon practice Sunday, February 8, from 1-3pm at the Dance Complex in Studio 4! Come out and play with us! NOTE that this is the SECOND SUNDAY of February, not our usual first Sunday, because of the sportball event happening February 1. (Go Pats!) Also notice the start times are ONE HOUR EARLIER than usual this time, because of when we could get space at Dance Complex.

And by popular demand, we are also running an additional BoaSA practice session on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, from 2-4pm as usual in Studio 4. There’s plenty of time to practice some Bal and still get yourself parked in front of some chicken wings in time for kickoff. See you there!

Fall Balboa is coming!

Oh hey, look! More awesome instructors who will be teaching at TinkerBal in October! This time it’s Laura Keat (with Jeremy Otth) winning the ACBC Open in 2013! The TinkerBal workshops may be sold out but there will be plenty of room at the awesome social dances in the evenings! Mark your calendars for October 3-5!


 

Classes: drop-in intro classes in September at Dance Complex! On Tuesdays in September, we’ll teach our usual beginner Balboa content, but tweaked a little bit to be drop-in-friendly. That means you can register for just one class, or a few, or all four classes. Send your friends who need to learn Bal, and come yourself to brush up the bits you still struggle with!

Peter Flahiff: And in October/November, Peter Flahiff will be in residence here in Boston! Peter is an internationally-renowned social dancer, performer, and teacher of Balboa and Lindy Hop, and we are thrilled to collaborate with New School Swing in bringing him to Boston and the New England region this fall!

BoaSA & Speakeasy: We’re sad to report that we’re canceling the September BoaSA and Balboa Speakeasy scheduled for September 7. Instead, you should check out the Greater Boston Vintage Society’s Dixieland Cruise, September 7 featuring Dan Gabel’s High Society Orchestra! It runs from 1-5pm and departs from Rowe’s Wharf in Boston at 2pm.

The Late Summer Update


Who’s that? Why that’s David Rehm and Heather Ballew who happen to be teaching in Boston in October at TinkerBal!

 
Holy crap, lots going on!

Classes: In August, we’re offering TWO Balboa class series, because y’all just can’t get enough! Jason Swihart & Shana Worel will teach on Thursdays at the Whistle Stop, offering a beginner series followed by an intermediate series. Registration is NOW OPEN!

Because they (like we) are big fans of always revisiting fundamentals, there is a 50% discount available on the beginner class for anyone who has taken a beginner-Balboa series from Boston Balboa or from NSS. If you took one of our beginner classes in the past or the Balboa for Lindy Hoppers NSS class in July, you qualify for the 50% discount on the beginner class. We hope to see lots of you taking both classes in August, because there’s lots more Balboa coming up this fall! Bring your friends!

BoaSA & Speakeasy: We hope everyone will come out to Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon on Sunday, August 3, to practice all the stuff we learned! And join us at Speakeasy immediately afterward at the Tavern at the End of the World for drinks, food, and dancing! (Sadly, we know lots of you will be at the rescheduled Lawn Party instead – have fun!)

Social dancing: PLUS: the next Saturday Night Shuffle will be August 16 at the Dilboy VFW in Davis Square – cash bar! awesome DJ music! social dancing!

Also coming soon — more classes in September at Dance Complex! And in October/November, Peter Flahiff will be in residence here in Boston! Peter is an internationally-renowned social dancer, performer, and teacher of Balboa and Lindy Hop, and we are thrilled to collaborate with New School Swing in bringing him to Boston and the New England region this fall! And let’s not forget TinkerBal — the workshops may be sold out but there will be some awesome social dancing to be had! Mark your calendars!

Hope to see you soon, dancing Bal!

holy amazeballs

This has been one hell of a weekend, and all of you made it happen!

TinkerBal 2014 sold out within 24 hours, and our heads are still spinning! Lots of people who didn’t get to register are planning to come to Boston anyway for all the social dancing (and maybe a private lesson before or after the weekend), so we hope to see ALL of you in Boston October 3-5!

And capping a spectacular day was our first Saturday Night Shuffle — which was completely awesome! We had so much fun dancing with and without stuffed lobsters on our heads, and we can’t wait to see even more of you at our next Saturday Night Shuffle (tentatively planned for August 16, stay tuned for details)!

Our hearts are full of Balboa-love, and we appreciate every one of you for coming out, for dancing, for learning, for loving this dance too, and for bringing your energy and joy to the scene.